In the giant whale's public performance of the new paradise Hyperliquid, trading power and attention overlap again

Author: Wenser, Odaily Planet Daily

On May 26, Hyperliquid officially announced that several metrics on the platform have reached new historical highs: the total value of open contracts has reached $10.1 billion; the 24-hour fee income is $5.6 million; and the USDC locked amount has reached $3.5 billion. This indicates that, with the recent market highs, Hyperliquid, known as the "on-chain CEX," is gradually becoming the focal point of market liquidity. Previously, several crypto whales engaged in long and short trades here, with many reaping substantial profits. Recently, the well-known James Wynn leveraged Hyperliquid's epic positions to influence the BTC and PEPE markets, drawing attention and liquidity that even spilled over to meme coins like moonpig.

It is no exaggeration to say that, to some extent, Hyperliquid has become a hunting ground for crypto whales, where many influence market sentiment through publicly available on-chain positions, thereby achieving market price manipulation to complete their hunting profits.

This article briefly explores this trend and its future direction.

Hyperliquid Trading Volume Hits New High: A Feast Driven by Crypto Whales

For readers who want to fully understand the whale James Wynn, feel free to read "Who is James Wynn: A Trading Genius from a Small Town, Betting $1 Billion." Today, we will discuss the potential and transmissive impact of crypto whales like James Wynn on the crypto market in the current market environment.

It is worth mentioning that James Wynn is not the first crypto whale to "influence market direction through positions." Previously, the "Hyperliquid 50x Leverage Whale" known as @qwatio also stirred market dynamics by opening positions on Hyperliquid. In March, he achieved over $9 million in profits by betting on the Federal Reserve's decisions, and due to the precise timing of his trades, he was dubbed the "50x Insider." On-chain detective ZachXBT previously revealed that his true identity might be William Parker (originally named Alistair Packover), a scammer and phishing hacker with a criminal history, as detailed in the article "50x Hyperliquid Whale Identity Revealed: A Scammer Who Made Headlines in the UK?"

Regardless, the current reality is that Hyperliquid provides a massive "on-chain stage" for crypto whales with substantial capital—where they can showcase their strength through opening positions, attracting attention and even admiration; on the other hand, they can also engage in alternative trading games here, indirectly influencing market focus and the underlying market sentiment.

As a rising on-chain contract platform in recent years (despite Hyperliquid's claims of being a high-performance L1 public chain), Hyperliquid has become a significant liquidity hub in the crypto market, making it a battleground for market makers (MMs) in the industry.

According to Dune data, from May 19 to May 25, the contract trading volume on the Hyperliquid platform reached $78.7 billion, while the overall market trading volume was approximately $109.6 billion, accounting for a staggering 71.8%. Additionally, in terms of 24-hour trading volume, Hyperliquid's trading volume today accounted for 73.1%, with a 7-day trading volume increase of about 46%; the 30-day trading volume increase was about 20%, ranking first among crypto trading market contract platforms.

Weekly Data on Hyperliquid Market Trading Volume Share

Such a massive trading volume is primarily driven by crypto whales with positions often amounting to millions, tens of millions, or even hundreds of millions of dollars. As noted in our previous article "Bullish Retreat vs. Bearish Revelry: Has $100,000 Become BTC's 'Maginot Line'?", many whales have chosen Hyperliquid as their "preferred platform." As an important barometer of the current crypto market, the various large long and short positions on Hyperliquid, along with the traders behind them, undoubtedly serve as the best "market baton."

Hyperliquid Becomes a New Battlefield for Attention: James Wynn and the Volatile moonpig

As the hottest trader at the moment, every move of James Wynn has attracted significant market attention, similar to the previous Hyperliquid 50x leverage whale, the former meme coin godfather Murad, and the ever-active trader Ansem. His latest "masterpiece" may be the meme coin project named moonpig.

Success and Failure of Meme

moonpig first appeared in the public eye on May 10, when its price surged past $0.02.

Just two days later, its price doubled again, rising to $0.04, and after a 10-day interval, on May 22, it broke through $0.05 and $0.1 consecutively. At that time, it was precisely when the legendary trader James Wynn garnered immense market attention due to taking profits on large BTC long positions.

In just a few days, moonpig achieved a threefold increase in market capitalization, soaring from $30 million to over $100 million, with many attributing its upward momentum to James Wynn's enthusiastic calls. However, today, moonpig experienced a sharp decline of up to 30% due to whale sell-offs, with its market cap dropping to around $52 million (Odaily Planet Daily note: it has since rebounded to about $79 million), leading to dissatisfaction in the market towards James Wynn. Many believe he profited from the sell-off, although he later denied this and even hinted at withdrawing from the contract market, along with making withdrawal operations. Yet, his subsequent trading actions still made people remark, "Indeed, he cannot stay away from trading."

Recent news shows that James Wynn has once again deposited 4 million USDC into Hyperliquid as margin, currently holding a 40x BTC long position valued at $75.12 million, with a liquidation price of $97,702.

In fact, the controversies and doubts surrounding James Wynn and his public calls have never ceased.

Previously, James Wynn faced criticism for charging for Baby Pepe calls and blacklisting the project team behind it. This time, moonpig is also seen by many as a "stain on James Wynn's trading career." After all, as he mentioned in his previous statement—"Do you really think that when I hold over $100 million in contract positions, I would care about selling a few hundred thousand dollars' worth of tokens?" If he truly didn't care, why would he be so concerned about endorsing and publicly calling trades?

Of course, history is written by the victors, and the crypto market is no exception. While James Wynn continues to validate his investment logic with tens of millions of dollars, countless others still choose to believe in his judgment, while dissent is inevitably present.

Trader Eugene's Sharp Critique: The Disadvantages of Public Large Positions Outweigh the Benefits

Trader Eugene commented that James Wynn's behavior of publicly establishing oversized positions is quite controversial, stating, "From experience, this is almost always a bad idea, as the negative externalities often outweigh the positive effects." He added that it will be worth monitoring how Wynn utilizes 10 to 20 times leverage under extremely high position sizes while maintaining long-term risk management capabilities.

In the long run, moonpig, as a meme coin that has attracted a certain level of market attention, still aligns with our previous judgment that "the most important aspect of meme coins is not just symbols and narratives, but attention." The current price recovery in the K-line trend also serves as evidence, suggesting that the price may still be on an upward trend.

Conclusion: Onchain Summer Has Arrived, Hyperliquid Becomes a New Paradise for Whales

With crypto exchanges like Binance, OKX, and Bybit entering the on-chain ecosystem through Alpha, Wallet, and other forms, traditional investment institutions entering the crypto market through ETFs, and listed companies hoarding BTC to enjoy stock price appreciation dividends, Onchain Summer has entered every corner of the crypto market in an alternative way. Hyperliquid, as the largest "on-chain contract platform," has also become a new paradise for many crypto whales.

Here, they can profit by frequently opening positions to track price trends, and on the other hand, they can also influence off-market sentiment and market direction to profit to some extent through their positions. In this land rich with risks and opportunities, James Wynn is neither the first hunter nor will he be the last.